Automated machines for making electrical cable assemblies are generally arranged to fabricate a given quantity of identical cable assemblies. During the fabrication, the conductors are cut to length and presented to a connector termination station for termination to a desired connector. The connector termination stations each include a connector storage and dispensing unit for dispensing a given type of connector, each such unit containing only one type of connector. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,034, which issued Aug. 23, 1977 to Sucheski, et al. discloses a connector storage and dispensing apparatus which receives individual connectors from a reel of tape fed connectors. The individual connectors are loaded into a vertically disposed tray or guide track. A single connector at the bottom of the guide track is presented to a pick up mechanism for transfer to the termination station. Another similar connector dispensing mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 132,310 filed Dec. 15, 1987 having Docket No. 13795 and assigned to the present assignee. There, a pair of vertical guide tracks are arranged to dispense connectors in two different orientations, one being in the opposite direction of the other. A shuttle, which can hold up to four connectors is passed adjacent the two guide tracks to receive up to four connectors. The shuttle is then positioned adjacent a series of four connector holders and the connectors simultaneously pushed laterally into the holders. The holders are then indexed, one at a time, to the terminating press for terminating the cable to each connector. With this arrangement, the ordering of the two different connector orientations must be determined in advance and the shuttle manually configured to accept this ordering. The four connector holders must also be manually configured to correspond to this ordering. This, of course, precludes use in a fully automated environment where cable assemblies having different connectors terminated thereto can be selectively and automatically fabricated. Additionally there is no capability to fabricate a repetitive series of different cable assemblies such as identical kits of cable assemblies.
The present invention teaches novel apparatus and methods of making such kits of cable assemblies in an automated environment.